Tuesday, July 14, 2015

The Man From Memphis (2CD) - Straight Arrow (Import news)

The Man From Memphis (2CD) - Straight Arrow (Import news)

The Straight Arrow import label announced the release of a new 2 CD set entitled "The Man From Memphis". It features the May 13, 1973 3 AM show as recorded from the audience at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel, Lake Tahoe, NV. and the November 26, 1976 as recorded from the audience at the Memorial Coliseum, Portland, OR. shows.

From the press-release:

Coming out soon is the 6th and last volume of Straight Arrow's "From The Rick Rennie Master Tapes" series - a double-digipak CD release, called "The man From Memphis", featuring the May 13th 3am 1973 and Portland, November 26th, 1976 shows.

Every great story have its beginning and the end. With this special release, we conclude our „Rick Rennie recordings“ series. We are delighted with the good feedback and excellent reviews that this series has received thus far. And it has been a pleasure to give Rick's recordings new life, attention and care that they deserve.

Technically, Lake Tahoe show is one of Rick's finest recordings. Yes we are aware that FTD label released a soundboard of this highly unusual concert back in 2003, but we feel that this tape is very much listenable and definitely more atmospheric, compared with rather sterile soundboard that they put out. Additionally, Rick's recording captured moments from this show that are not on the soundboard, including the reprise of the 2001 Theme and the second Closing vamp.

The Portland '76 show was the last one captured by Rick. A lot had happened in the three years between the shows on this release, but the Portland concert is actually a pretty decent one for the time. Elvis had lost some weight since the previous tour, he was in good voice, and he seemed a little more upbeat at these shows, though he still looked tired in photos.

Without guys like Rick Rennie, we would be missing many interesting pieces of the Elvis story. Rick had the foresight to capture the excitement of Elvis in concert, and his body of work deserves a place in the collection of every serious Elvis scholar.

As with every Straight Arrow’s upgrade, this beautifully designed double-digipak edition is limited to 500 copies. If you have enjoyed previous five volumes of the "From The Rick Rennie Master Tapes" series, you cannot go wrong with our "Man From Memphis" set!